Nakagin Capsule Tower, Plus Nagoya and Fukuoka

• Nakagin Capsule Tower (1972) - Kisho Kurokawa [Figure-Ground.com]

I've also expanded Figure/Ground's Tokyo (2005—2007) section to include photos from Fukuoka and Nagoya. Therefore, the section has been renamed "Japan" to reflect the expanded scope. Definitely take a look at the Fukuoka sub-section if you are interested in architecture. There are quite a few interesting buildings in that set.

• Fukuoka [Figure-Ground.com]
• Nagoya [Figure-Ground.com]

June 7, 2008 | Filed Under: Announcements, Architecture & Design, Photos, Travel
Tags: architecture, figureground, fukuoka, japan, kishokurokawa, nagoya, nakagincapsuletower, tokyo, travel

Toyota Municipal Museum of Art

I love Taniguchi's buildings. They're very elegant and understated.

• Toyota Municipal Museum of Art - Yoshio Taniguchi [Figure-Ground.com]

Another Taniguchi building I've photographed: The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures.

May 8, 2008 | Filed Under: Announcements, Architecture & Design, Photos, Travel
Tags: architecture, figureground, japan, photos, travel, yoshiotaniguchi

Tadao Ando in Tokyo, 2005—2007

Three recent works of Tadao Ando in Tokyo (pictured above from left to right: hhstyle.com/Casa, Omotesando Hills, 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT). You see a definite departure from earlier works with the incoporation of lots of sharp angles and diagonals. I'm not sure I like this "new" Ando. These are pretty underwhelming projects compared to his earlier work like the Church of the Light and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

• Tadao Ando in Tokyo, 2005—2007 [Figure-Ground.com]

April 30, 2008 | Filed Under: Announcements, Architecture & Design, Photos, Travel
Tags: architecture, figureground, japan, photos, tadaoando, tokyo, travel

Tokyo

A selection of photos from four trips to Tokyo taken between April 2005 and December 2007.

• Tokyo [Figure-Ground.com]

March 27, 2008 | Filed Under: Announcements, Photos, Travel
Tags: figureground, japan, tokyo, travel

Imperial Hotel Entrance Hall

Surprise, surprise, another update to Figure/Ground! Hot on the heels of the Indonesia travelogue, here's a small update featuring a few shots of Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel entrance (yes, just the entrance), moved from Tokyo and planted in an architectural history theme park near Nagoya.

I thought it looked extremely sad, having been torn not just from its location, but from the rest of the building as well. It's architecture without context.

The photos of the truncated building set against a lush mountain backdrop and overlooking a lake look just so ridiculously incongruous and wrong, so you won't see those here. Some of you are probably curious to see them, but I simply cannot do that to FLW.

• Main Entrance Hall and Lobby of the Imperial Hotel (1923) - Frank Lloyd Wright [Figure-Ground.com]

March 19, 2008 | Filed Under: Announcements, Architecture & Design, Photos, Travel
Tags: architecture, franklloydwright, imperialhotel, japan, travel

One More Reason Why Japanese People Are So Cute

I was looking out the window of the plane as it started to taxi away from the gate when I noticed that the airport grounds crew not only bows to the planes as they taxi away (this is to be expected, Japanese people bow all the time), but they also—get this—wave goodbye to the planes until they are out of sight as if each and every one is full of their closest and dearest friends. Tell me that isn't adorable.

December 7, 2007 | Filed Under: Travel
Tags: airport, japan, travel

Visiting Japan Isn't as Hassle-Free as It Used to Be

When did Japan get so paranoid about visitors? At some point between now and when I last visited in July, they've instituted American-style immigration check-point, with photo taking and fingerprint scanning (in fact, they've gone one-step further and scan both of your index fingers).

Plus, their customs is now almost as invasive as Customs Canada. It used to be you could just breeze through customs, you didn't even need to fill out a declaration. Now, they are carefully searching through nearly everyone's luggages. They even took my tripod for an x-ray and asked me a ton of questions about where I'm from, where I'm going, what I'm doing, etc, etc. Even padded me down for good measure.

What the hell are they so afraid of?? Customs Canada's excuse is that they want to soak every last cent of every poor Canadian who travels, but what about Japan? Do they have such a huge smuggling problem that they need to do this to every visitor? Or are they just targeting us Taiwanese?

Anyway, perhaps because of their unfailing politeness or my unfailing love of everything Japanese, all these added invasions of privacy didn't really seem all that unwelcoming. You get the sense that the people doing the searching are just following new bureaucratic rules versus a lot of the U.S. immigration officers sorry, I meant Homeland Security officers who seem to be on power trips over all their expanded powers to keep you out. A few smiles and "thank yous" go a long way.

December 7, 2007 | Filed Under: Travel
Tags: japan, travel

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon (Tokyo)

I will just come right out and say it: start-to-finish, it was the best meal I've ever had.

If you are reading this review, chances are, you know all about Robuchon and his Ateliers popping up all over the world (Tokyo, Paris, Vegas, New York, London, Hong Kong at last count), so I won't get into who he is (a legend in French cuisine) and what his Ateliers are all about (fancy French food in informal settings inspired by sushi bars). What better place to try his Atelier concept than at the original location, the one in Tokyo?

Continue reading "L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon (Tokyo)"

September 19, 2007 | Filed Under: Food & Drink, Travel
Tags: food, frenchfood, japan, joelrobuchon, latelier, review, tokyo, travel

Ginza Kyubey

In all my trips to Tokyo over the past few years (this was my 8th trip in 8 years), I've never tried a high-end sushi restaurant (I went to Nobu Tokyo once, but I don't think that really counts). Not having a reliable local guide
to take me, I've always thought the mysteries of haute sushi dining is most likely out of my reach because at that level, the interaction between the sushi chef and the customer is so important (and as it turned out, it did prove to be a problem this time). Plus, I am more than satisfied simply trying the multitude of affordable dining options in Tokyo. The relief on my wallet (in an otherwise expensive city) is a welcomed side benefit.

I still don't know any local foodie (or anyone, period, who lives in Tokyo, actually), but I decided it's time for me to dip my toes into the realm of fancy Tokyo sushi joints. For my first foray into this world, I decided upon Kyubey (久兵衛), supposedly one of the most famous sushi restaurants in all of Japan. Incidentally, they are the inventor of gunkan-maki ("battleship wrap")—the technique of wrapping sushi with a loose topping like ikura or uni with a strip of nori. I figured since they are that well known, they are likely as equipped as anyone to deal with foreigners.

Continue reading "Ginza Kyubey"

July 20, 2007 | Filed Under: Food & Drink, Travel
Tags: japan, review, sushi, tokyo, travel